


Stealing Him Away

by ElisaPhoenix



Series: Supreme Family Chaos [17]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M, Mama Bear Stephen Strange, Other, Peter is Not Impressed, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 19:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19012774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaPhoenix/pseuds/ElisaPhoenix
Summary: Tony notices something about Stephen's behavior when Peter spends time with the team.





	Stealing Him Away

If Tony actually thought about it, it started with Thor...and really someone had to be looking to see it. The first time the god of thunder visited the Tower years after Ultron, he had Peter's full attention. The Spiderling followed him around with eyes full of adoration and asked so many questions, Tony was afraid he would succeed in annoying the god. Except Thor was surprisingly patient with Peter, and seemed to enjoy the attention.

It only earned an eye twitch though.

Then Peter was hanging out with Scott, Clint, and Sam. Whether it was taking over the family living room and playing video games for hours on end, or actually going outside and tossing a football around as obnoxiously as they possibly could. Tony was convinced that Clint threw the football at one of the windows on purpose just to get a rise out of the genius. Sometimes Peter would sneak up behind Sam when Scott was nearby and smack the back of his head, and then practically phase out of existence before he turned around. That always started a wrestling match between Falcon and Ant-man while Hawkeye and Spiderman watched from the sidelines.

All that earned a grumble.

Then things started to get more obvious when the teen spent time with Steve, Natasha, and Bucky. Granted, their idea of hanging out was usually training, but occasionally if Peter was miraculously feeling calm, he would sit with Steve and watch the captain sketch. He would help Bucky bake if the soldier found himself in the kitchen, or he would lay his head in Natasha's lap and they would quietly read their separate books.

That got a glare.

That was when Tony realized that Stephen Strange was jealous...and addicted to cuddling with Peter. The cub was straying from the den and Mama Bear was not having it. He was sure in Stephen's mind, the only person he would share the Spider-Baby with was Tony himself (and actually Rhodey on occasion), and that the Avengers were overstepping their bounds.

Stark didn't know if it was endearing or worrying.

When Peter hung out with Wanda and Vision, Stephen bristled. The Scarlet Witch would show the teen her powers whenever he asked and Strange would be on edge. Those times didn't last very long because Levi would suddenly drag a very surprised Peter away until he was safely within arms reach of one of his parents. Tony didn't totally blame him. While he trusted Wanda, she still made him a little nervous after the whole screwing with his mind thing. She did apologize for it and the engineer had accepted it and forgiven her, but the memory was still there.

Stephen was otherwise calm about Peter's time with the Avengers. They were a team after all, and it was important they built a friendship and trust.

Then Loki came and that was the straw that broke the sorcerer's back.

Stephen stepped into Mama Bear Mode the moment Thor came to the tower with the god of mischief, and Tony knew that if Loki so much as harmed a single hair on Peter's head or made him sniffle, there would be hell to pay.

It wasn't even noon and Tony needed a drink.

"Man of Iron! I've brought my brother!"  
Peter looks up so quickly that the others were afraid he gave himself whiplash. "Loki?"

Tony and Stephen tense as the boy abandons his homework at the kitchen table and bounds right up to the trickster. Loki stares with disinterest as Peter looks at him curiously, and the expression wavers just a bit at the teen's next words.

"Can you shapeshift?"  
"I...what?"   
Tony almost laughed at the confused expression on Loki's face but instead leaned toward Stephen. "Calm down. The Peter Effect is working and I don't want another power outage."  
"How can you be so calm?" Stephen hisses.  
"Because Stephanie...I trust Point Break. If he's bringing the god of mischief here, then he believes that he can be trusted." Stephen growls in response and Tony grins. "Have I mentioned how attractive you are when Mama Bear comes out to play?"  
Stephen rubs his face. "I can't believe you."  
"Look. Be protective. I don't care. Just put it on the back burner. If Loki tries something then you can protect your cub."  
That got the man's attention and he turns on his heel to look at Tony directly. "Natasha has you saying it too?!"  
"She's right. It's cute...and to be clear, everyone but you and Peter are calling him that. You two need to get with program."  
"What program? There is no program!"  
"Says the guy that responds to Mama Bear. I thought denial was just a river in Egypt."

Stephen steals Tony's mug when he pours himself some coffee, and ignores the man's protest as he walks to the kitchen table and sits in Peter's abandoned seat. He lazily glances through the teen's physics homework while also keeping an eye on said cub and their new visitor. By some miracle, Peter had convinced the god to play chess and Loki actually seemed to be enjoying himself. The Peter Effect was in full swing. Even the god of mischief couldn't resist the teen.

Loki looks up from his play. "Will he be glaring at me all day?"  
Peter looks up at him then follows his gaze to find Stephen giving the shapeshifter the stink eye. "Mom!"

Loki watches with interest when Stephen's glare immediately softens to something fond when he turns his attention to Peter.

"Yes Spiderling?"  
"You're being the annoying overprotective parent!" Loki and Tony notice the shattering effect Peter's words have on the sorcerer, but the teen completely misses it. "You're worse than Dad and his baby protocols!"

Peter turns back to the chess game, completely unaware of the heart-break he just caused and Tony watches as Stephen calmly stands from his seat. The doctor's face was completely devoid of emotion as he left his full mug of coffee on the table with Peter's homework and left the kitchen appearing to be unaffected.

It was an outright lie.

Tony opens his mouth but Loki holds up a finger to stop him. The engineer closes his jaw with a snap, not necessarily to obey the god but because he was curious. He obviously saw the effect Peter had on Stephen and had something to say about it. He would humor Loki for now.

"You call him your mother?" Loki asks the teen quietly.  
Peter blushes. "Yeah. It was an accident at first but he didn't seem to mind and then it turned into a running joke..."  
"But he is important to you?"  
Peter studies the board after Loki moves one of his pawns. "Of course. Mr.Stark and Dr.Strange are really all I have left. They took me in when my last remaining relative died."  
Loki hums as if in thought. "So your way of thanking them is telling your mother that he's being overprotective and annoying?" Peter freezes and doe-like brown eyes flash up to meet green. "He has good reason to be wary."  
"But...you're being nice."  
"...and he was being careful."  
Peter looks down into his lap and fiddles with the hem of his shirt. "Do you think he hates me now?"  
Tony groans and rubs his forehead. This kid had some serious parental insecurities. "Stephen will never hate you bud. I'm pretty sure if you massacred half of Manhattan, he would help you hide the bodies."  
Peter's eyes widen when he looks back at his father. "That's a little terrifying."  
"He has also sat back while you spent time with the rest of the team and made friends with a psychotic god." Tony smirks when Loki rolls his eyes. "Mama Bear has been wanting to cuddle his cub."  
Peter wrinkles his nose at the term but looks back to Loki. "Can we finish our game later?"  
"Of course. Family is more important."

Peter nods and runs off to find Stephen and Tony raises an eyebrow at the god studying the board game. He never thought Loki would be the type to take a page out of a parenting book and kindly reprimand a teenager. If it were a couple of years ago, it would have sent him for a loop, but it wasn't. It was really like any other Saturday afternoon.

That was kind of a depressing thought. Weird was a regular part of his life now.

"Thank you."  
"I don't think Peter meant it."  
Tony sighs. "No. He didn't."

____________________

Peter found Stephen sitting in his parents room, and at first thought the man was meditating until he quietly called for him and got no response. That only meant he was in astral form and off somewhere or another.

Probably as far from Peter as he could get.

"I'm sorry." Peter sits on the ground in front of the projecting sorcerer and slowly lays his head on one of his crossed knees. "I didn't mean what I said."

He laid there with no sign of response from the elder for over an hour, with only his mind to keep him company. His thoughts quickly derailed from _'I hope he forgives me'_ to _'Dad was wrong. Stephen hates me and probably knows I'm here and is waiting for me to leave.'_ A single tear escapes from his eyes at the thought and he stifles a sob.

"Please don't hate me." Peter whispers.

The boy startles when a hand gently brushes his hair away from his forehead, followed by a fond huff.

"Never Spiderling."  
Peter sits up and stares at blue eyes before throwing his arms around Stephen's neck. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"  
"I'll forgive you...on one condition."  
"Anything."  
"I get my cub time."

Peter laughs and Stephen resists the urge to smack his own face.

_Shit._

He said it out loud.

**Author's Note:**

> This was not supposed to get angsty but that's what happened. At least I ended it with a bit of humor.


End file.
